Initially, Lauren Campbell was intimidated by the idea of visiting the family of one of her students.
“It is not socially the norm for teachers to visit homes,” Campbell said. “Although I was trained in how to navigate the visit, I certainly expected my first visit to be awkward.”
Studying to become an elementary school teacher at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, Campbell and her classmates visited the homes of students they taught during their clinical placements.
Lauren Campbell, a graduate of UVA’s School of Education and Human Development, says she thought home visits might be awkward, but instead found them to be warm conversations about fishing trips, mountain biking and Halloween decorations. (Contributed photo)
What she thought might be an awkward visit turned into conversations about fishing trips, mountain biking stories, Lego creations and Halloween decorations.
Campbell left reminded that learning is happening both in her classroom and in the students’ living rooms.
“Family visits provide a beautiful opportunity to connect these two fundamental spaces in children’s lives and development,” she said. “I came to understand these visits aren’t interviews, but conversations centered around humble curiosity and mutual care for the student.”
Judy Paulick, an associate professor of teacher education, supervised the visits that Campbell and her classmates conducted.
“The goal of the family visit is to center the family, listening to their stories and experiences and learning about the family’s ways of knowing and being,” Paulick said. “In these moments, the teachers become the learners, and the families are very good teachers.”
Pilot studies conducted by Paulick and Natalia Palacios, a fellow associate professor at the UVA Education School, have shown that with training, teachers who engage in these visits change their beliefs and understanding about their students.
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